


Better bitter

by umiwomitai



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Athlete!Dongyoung, Athlete!Ten, Enemies to Lovers, Ice Skating, M/M, Sort Of, the johnkun is only a side pairing, the rating is there for swearwords, this is a mess i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 07:51:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17096756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umiwomitai/pseuds/umiwomitai
Summary: Dongyoung and Ten are both ice skaters from the same team, but have been hating each other even since Ten was added to the team. Kun complains about how this is stupid and Dongyoung is just bitter over Ten winning a championship Dongyoung wanted to win.Dongyoung simply argues that he's over this and that Ten just doesn't deserve his being polite. But maybe he is actually bitter...





	Better bitter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yukaris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukaris/gifts).



> Hi!
> 
> I... don't even know what that is... The more I read it, the less I like it, so... I'm sorry? This is for the following prompt : "figure skating! au in which there are two renowned rival skaters who supposedly hate each other but are in denial of how much they are into each other, its a plus if they are the pairing with members from different nationality" and I know that I've gone a little far from it, so I really really hope you'll like nonetheless. Have a merry Christmas!! 
> 
> (for anyone else reading it : this is a mess, I barely know anything about ice skating besides my weird obsession for it as a child, I'm sorry. Have fun.)
> 
> (once again, English is not my first language so sorry for any mistake / weird sentence)

The air outside was biting cold, just as it was when he stepped inside the building.

He had come back from holiday just two days before, enjoying his time with his brother and cousins. He had never stopped skating during this week long break, yet coming back to the ice rink, changing into his training outfit and lacing his skates was a feeling he had missed.

The smell of the changing rooms, the cold seeping through his clothes, the chatter coming from outside, the welcoming smile their coach always has when she greets them, the weight of his skates. It was so familiar to him, he was feeling like he’s finally breathing again.

Kun sat down next to him in a sigh, dropping his bag on the floor before bending forward to take off his shoes.

“I wouldn’t have said no to a few more days of rest,” he mumbled.

Dongyoung looked at him amused, knowing perfectly well that as soon as he would put a foot on the ice, he would stop complaining.

“How was China?”

“Tiring. You’d think my mother would let me rest, but no. She kept saying that she never sees me so she has to make the most of it. Youngho never complained and got along with her, though, so that’s good.”

Dongyoung smiled, and leaned against the lockers behind him, waiting for Kun to finish putting on his shoes. The other members of the team slowly started coming in, the newbies greeting them politely before leaving to look for their coach. When Ten finally came in, looking angrier than ever, Kun turned to him.

“What happened to his hand?”

“Why do you care?” he shot back immediately, before standing up. “I’ll go warm up first.”

Just like that, he left the room, not bothering to look back or answer Kun’s questions.

He knew perfectly well what happened to Ten’s hand, but it seemed like the smaller boy had kept their fight a secret. That was what happened to his hand. Once again, they had fought over something he couldn’t remember. Once again, Ten had done his best to make him madder with every word that came out of his mouth. Once again, he had been close to losing it. This time, however, Dongyoung had messed up. He had been so close to losing it that his hands had wrapped around Ten’s arm, shaking him, not caring when he cried in pain. He had pushed him out of anger and left, before realising that Ten was still on the floor, holding his hand close to his chest.

A few hours later, in front of the hospital, standing next to their coach, Dongyoung had apologised to Ten. It was their last training day before the break, and since then, none of them had talked to the other.

It seemed like Ten hadn’t talked to anyone at all. Dongyoung’s secret was safe, and while telling himself that it was for the best, he stepped on the ice and went on with his warming up exercises.

 

* * *

 

 

He stopped only when their coach called for them. They skated towards her, forming somewhat of a circle. Dongyoung looked at Kun, who simply shrugged at the unspoken question.

“They greeted you already but I wanted to introduce our new team members properly. Here is our first duo composed of Renjun and Jaemin.”

Dongyoung raised an eyebrow but still introduced himself when his turn came. As the oldest of the team, he already knew they were to welcome new members, and had seen many potential skaters that could have joined during the past championships. But their team was known for individual skaters, not duos, and especially not full male ones. He had never even thought of it, but it was a more than welcome novelty.

“They will train just like any of us, so I want you all to make sure they understand everything, but especially understand and respect the rules. Dongyoung?”

“Yes, ma'am?”

“You will prepare their routine exercise along with Ten for the winter trip,” she said as if it was the most casual thing to ask to two members she knew couldn’t get along. Then, with a firm voice and deadly stare, she added “I will not accept any personal issues getting in the way of training, I hope this is clear.”

“Crystal clear,” Ten answered, speaking up for the first time that day.

Dongyoung stared at him, looking him up and down. Both his hands were balled up in fists, despite the splint on his left hand, but his eyes were dull and empty. He decided he hated this view of him, so he opened his mouth to throw whatever snarky remark he could think of to rile him up. Just as he thought, it worked, and with a mocking smile, he went back on the ice rink and went on with his routine.

 

* * *

 

 

Days were always pretty similar to Dongyoung. He would wake, go for a run, take a shower before having breakfast with his mom. Then he would study or read, before meeting up with Kun for training. They would train long into the afternoon, only stopping to eat a little and drink a lot. Then he would give the beginner’s class, attend the evening training with the team, and go back home to take a shower and wait for sleep to take him away. It usually only took a few minutes for him to feel his limbs grow heavier as his eyelids were closing.

His routine was pretty set, yet he liked how some unforeseen events could come up and mess up his day. His favourites events always involved Ten.

Ten was so easy to tease lately Dongyoung almost complained about it. It sometimes looked like every cell in Ten’s body was this close to throw themselves at his throat and strangle him, or worse. Though Dongyoung would have hated to get blood on the ice rink (those were a hassle to clean), he was absolutely convinced that kind of hateful look on Ten’s pretty face would have been a delight.

“You’re fucking twisted, Dongyoung. I’m really sorry, but there’s no other way to put it.”

“No, I’m not. It’s just good fun.”

Johnny looked at him from above his glasses before going back to the textbook on his lap, scribbling some notes under tables. Next to him, Kun sighed softly before finishing the ties of his skates.

“I doubt breaking his wrist can be considered good fun.” This time, Dongyoung gave him a dirty look, unhappy about the remark. “All I’m saying is, the day this little quarrel goes too far, I will be sad to say I actually told you so.”

“It’s fine, Kun. It’s not that serious.” Dongyoung shrugged, looking over at the two kids having fun on the ice rink a little below.

They were around 10, maybe 11, and already at ease on the ice. They were in Kun’s class and were often too distracted by each other’s jokes to actually pay attention to the lessons, but he knew Kun liked them. He always told Dongyoung about how they reminded him of them both at their age, stupid and talented, bold and reckless. Unstoppable.

“Just say you find him hot and go, then.”

This time, Dongyoung didn’t hold back his disgusted frown.

“Gross. I’d rather suck Johnny’s dick than admitting this.”

“Well thank you for the offer, but I’ll pass.”

Dongyoung rolled his eyes at this, ignoring the smirk Johnny and Kun exchanged, as well as the kiss Kun gave him as he got up. Did they really need to be so obviously in love every single time?

“You’re staying until the end of practice tonight, Youngho?”

“I can’t, I have to help Jaehyun with his algebra. He has a test next week.”

Dongyoung left after this, going back to the changing rooms to grab his phone and play games while Kun would be giving class.

Johnny’s words kept running around his mind, however, bothering him too much to focus correctly on the screen. He closed the app after just a few minutes and sighed, laying on the bench, arms hanging at the sides. Ten, in all honesty, was pretty good looking. Even if making him say those words out loud would require hours of unbearable torture, he had a nice face and well-proportioned body. Well after all, they all trained and exercised a lot, right? It was only normal for Ten to be so handsome.

Right.

But Dongyoung also had to bring in the fact that he absolutely despised him and all he stood for. Having to be his teammate was already hard enough on him, he hated that their coach had thought of making them work together for the newbies’ training. He wanted to riot, yell at her, and maybe spit on Ten’s face just to piss him off more than he already was. Oh, just the thought of Ten having to wipe the spit from his face with a grossed-out look was enough to make him smile wickedly.

Yes, Ten was handsome. But Ten was also small and easy to hate on, easy to piss off, and probably the only distraction Dongyoung had to make him think about something other than his failures and regrets.

He didn’t get up when he heard the door open, but as soon as he heard the thud of a bag being dropped next to his head and a heavy sigh he could have recognized his eyes closed, he straightened up a little.

“Early, today?”

“Get off of my towel, Kim. You’re sweaty and it’s disgusting.”

“Still less disgusting than having to see your face everyday.”

“Attacking my looks? That’s already old, dear. Please respect yourself a little more.”

“That’s why I’m leaving, actually. Hope you’ll slip on your wrist today, Tennie.”

With just a sigh, which was quite disappointing to see, Ten just shrugged and turned to his locker to take out his skates.

“The problem with you, Kim, is that you would be such nice company if you just learned how to shut the fuck up.”

Dongyoung didn’t get a chance to riposte as Yerim stepped in, joyful and voice high while on the phone. She greeted them with a smile and kept talking as if they weren’t even the room, so Dongyoung took the cue and decided to go to the toilets before training was supposed to start. He hadn’t had the last word, but he knew that it didn’t matter: he always had the upper hand anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

“Is Johnny coming for the winter trip?”

“Not this year. He has finals, and this big project to work on. He also has his part-time job, and he’s looking for an internship.”

“Does he ever stop?”

With a tired but proud smile, Kun turned around and closed the door, following Dongyoung to the parking lot.

“Not really.”

“So he’s spending Christmas alone?”

“No, he’s staying with Jaehyun. We’ll be back for new year’s eve though, so it’s fine.”

Dongyoung nodded at him absent-mindedly. He knew how hard it was for Kun sometimes to be part of the ice skating team. He was far from home, far from his parents, and even far from his boyfriend. He always found this sort of longing in Kun’s eyes whenever Johnny wasn’t around, a tiredness that didn’t quite come from training late into the night.

Kun was probably one of the only reasons Dongyoung was still there, alive and well. He had a strength inside of him, a fire keeping him going on, that Dongyoung had lacked for so long. Having to train alongside someone so determined and fierce had helped shaping him in the person he now was. He admired him a lot and he was absolutely certain that he couldn’t have gone through half of what Kun had had to push through.

Just having to be away from his boyfriend…

Dongyoung hadn’t dated anyone since high school because the same problem always occurred : he was too busy. All his free time was dedicated to training, to the point where he didn’t have any free time anymore. He couldn’t bare not being able to spend time with his loved one, and neither could they. It was for the best.

That was what he kept telling himself, and so far it had worked. It had worked, and things will keep going this way.

“How is the training going?”

“Fine. The new guys are really good, I’m pleasantly surprised actually.”

“I have eyes, Dongyoung, I know they are good. I wasn’t talking about them.”

Dongyoung knew perfectly well Kun wanted him to mention Ten, and how they were doing now that they had to train a duet together, but he refused to give him this pleasure.

“They’re satisfied, that’s all that matters.”

With a sigh, Kun dropped the subject and, before he had any chance to had anything else, his phone rang. With a smile, he waved at Dongyoung and walked up to the car waiting for him a little done the street. It was Dongyoung’s turn to sigh this time as he watched the car drive away.

“For the best…” he let out in a breath, before walking back home slowly under the dim light of the street lamps.

 

* * *

 

 

“You’re sure everything is packed correctly?”

“Mom, I’ve been going on these trips for years now, I know what I need to take. I’ll be fine, alright?” Dongyoung added while grabbing the small takeaway box his mother was holding. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I know this is not true.”

“Well at least your other son is at home this time.”

He gave her one last kiss on the cheek, took his bags and entered the elevator which was only waiting for him to go down. In front of the building Johnny and Kun were waiting for him in Johnny’s car. He put his bags away and sat in the backseat, gladly accepting the cookie Johnny gave him.

“They’re Kun’s favourites.”

“I know yeah, he never shuts up about it.”

“Hey, they’re good! And healthy, which means I can eat more than one.”

The rest of the car drive was full of laughter and stupid jokes, but Dongyoung’s mind was somewhere else. This year, he was in charge of planning the training for the youngest members of the team during the trip, and the amount of stress he had because of this was totally new to him. Despite having been the captain for a few years now, he had never been in charge of something so important, as the team’s winter trip was always the turning point to know what each member needed to work on to have a chance to take part in championships.

He didn’t hate taking some of the coach’s tasks, he just wished it wouldn’t bring him so much stress.

“Dongyoung?”

“Hm?”

“Hurry up, they’re all waiting for us.”

He grabbed his bags from Johnny’s hands, thanked him, wished him a merry Christmas and followed Kun through the maze of the airport. Indeed, everyone was already waiting for them, and the coach gave them a weird look. Dongyoung mentally noted that he’d have to apologise for this later.

He zoned out while the coach was giving her usual speech, eyes getting lost on everything surrounding them. Next to Kun was standing Ten, and Dongyoung let his gaze drop to his hand. He had been totally free to use his hand for a few weeks already and had never mentioned it to Dongyoung at all. Sometimes, he could feel something close to guilt prick his heart when Ten would touch his wrist with a painful frown, but he had never bothered to tell anyone. It’s not like apologies could change the past anyway.

_It was for the best._

 

* * *

 

 

The moment they stepped foot in the winter resort they’re staying in, Jaemin dropped his bags, too tired to keep going. The coach made them all stand in a circle around to give them rooming arrangement and the keys to their room.

“Jaemin and Renjun together. Kun, with Yerim and Wendy. Ten and Dongyoung, together. I won’t change this under any circumstances, so if you’re not able to get along with your roommate, consider it a training to improve team spirit. Off you go now, you’re free until dinner, so 7pm.”

She had said all this while not moving her eyes away from Dongyoung, knowing perfectly how these news would make him react. With great difficulty, he swallowed his pride and anger, and took his key to go to his room, totally ignoring Kun’s calls.

Team spirit? Bullshit. He knew perfectly well what she was aiming for with this, and he would have hated her for it if he didn’t know better. He was thick, stubborn and proud, but not stupid or reckless. He admitted that his behaviour with Ten was impacting the whole team’s mood more often than not, and he could see that Renjun and Jaemin weren’t at ease with them when they were taking care of their training.

But to admit it out loud in front of Ten’s face? Never.

He was putting his clothes away in the closet when he heard the door open and close in his back.

“I’m warning you, you better not try to talk to me. Just keep it quiet for the whole trip and it’ll end well for both of us.”

“It’s me, Dongyoung.”

He turned around and saw Kun sitting on Ten’s bed. He sighed and apologised.

“It’s fine. I think Ten is helping Jaemin with his bags, you’re free for a moment.”

“Good.”

“Dongyoung… I know you hate talking about it, but don’t you think it’s time to move on now? Ten… He’s not the same person, and neither are you. There’s no need to be this petty.”

“Petty?” he scoffed, closing the closet doors. “I get to decide when my behaviour is petty or not, and this, is not. He deserves everything and he should have thought about it before coming into this team. If he can’t take it, then he’s free to leave.”

“Even breaking his wrist?”

Dongyoung didn’t answer, leaving them both in an uncomfortable silence, before Kun sighed and stood up.

“I don’t want to blame you for all this, but I still think that you’ve gone a little far with this one. I’m saying this again, but… You should talk it out before it really goes too far. I don’t want you to regret it.”

Dongyoung turned around to hug Kun, to comfort his friend but mostly to comfort himself.

“I’m fine. I’ve got this, alright? You said, I’m not the same person, I won’t let my anger make me lose control.”

Ten chose this exact moment to come into the room, and gave them an annoyed look before smirking, putting his bags on his bed.

“Sorry, am I interrupting something?”

Kun held onto Dongyoung’s hand to keep him from answering, and he smiled at him warmly.

“I’ll see you for dinner, alright? Behave.”

Dongyoung watched him leave, before turning to his bed. He started taking off his clothes to get changed, not paying attention to the fact that Ten had stopped putting his own clothes in the closet to look at him. Annoyed, he didn’t stay cold for too long and snapped at him.

“Why do you have no sense of privacy?”

“Dude, we shower together almost everyday, what privacy is there left?”

“It’s not the same when it’s after hours of training and now that we’re sharing a room together.” Ten looked at him from head to toe, eyes unreadable, before frowning in disgust. “Whatever. I don’t know why I still expect you to behave like a normal human being when it’s about me.”

“I don’t know either. It must be because you’re stupid, or desperate for my attention,” Dongyoung teased with a smirk. He watched with delight as disgust was replaced with anger on Ten’s face.

“You wish. Anyway, the coach is waiting for you, get your ugly face away from me.”

“Don’t miss me too much, Tennie.”

“I definitely won’t.”

Dongyoung exited the room with a smile, reaching the coach’s room in a few steps. Maybe this trip would turn out funnier than he thought.

 

* * *

 

 

“Training, training, and training again. It’s my first time in Japan and I can’t even visit a little.”

“Train enough and you’ll be able to attend the championship here, then you can visit all you want.”

Jaemin sighed a little but got up and joined Renjun on the ice rink. Dongyoung could literally feel his coach’s eyes on the back of his head, only leaving him to end up on Ten next to him. She had decided to supervise some of the training sessions to make sure that their issues weren’t affecting the quality of their coaching.

So far, Dongyoung had remained polite enough and Ten had remained mostly silent, and both of them knew it was obvious this wasn’t normal but they both liked to pretend it was. However, the two other boys could feel the tension and were treading around them in fear of an outburst.

It got worse after a few minutes when their coach had to leave for a phone call. Renjun wasn’t managing to get the move correctly, and even if Jaemin was doing his best to reassure him and show him how it needed to be done, he noticed how Dongyoung was starting to get annoyed at him.

“That’s it. Take a break, we aren’t getting anywhere.”

“I’m sorry…” Renjun whispered, hands playing with the zipper of his jacket. “I’ll do better.”

“You’re doing great, Renjun, Dongyoung is just pissy for no reason.”

Renjun tried to deny it and take the blame, but it was already too late. Dongyoung snapped, turning to Ten to face him, expression full of annoyment and hurt.

“Well maybe if you hadn’t been late I would have been in a better mood.”

“It’s not me who takes ages in the bathroom. Looking at your face right now, it clearly was useless.”

“Just like your presence here.”

Dongyoung could feel his self-control slip away from him, and his head there was Kun’s worried voice pleading him, warning him again and again. But words were fading, swallowed entirely by the pent up frustration and the pure rage building up inside him. He _knew_ he was going too far, that whatever he was going to say would break something that had already been worn off by their countless bickering, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

Ten’s eyes glared at him while his whole body showed how full of anger he was.

“Stop already, Kim, or I’ll make you regret saying this.”

“Oh yeah? Nothing will make me regret saying this more than I regret you being a part of this team. You’re nothing but a nuisance to me, and you’ve won nothing worthy since that fucking stupid championship you stole away from me.”

“Don’t think so high of yourself, you wouldn’t have won anyway.”

“I would have crushed you, Chittaphon, because you’ll always be worse than me.”

Ten was suddenly just in front of him, hands on his collar, close enough to feel threatening. But Dongyoung couldn't care anymore.

“Don’t say my name with your filthy mouth.”

“Or what? You think I'm afraid of you? You're nothing, just like you've always been. No one wants you here, it's no surprise no one visited you at the hospital when you-"

This time, Dongyoung didn’t get enough time to finish his sentence, words trapped inside by the blow of a slap on his face. He hadn’t seen it coming and, with a hand on his now bright red cheek, he turned to Ten, just to notice that Kun was standing here, rage in his eyes.

“You’ve gone too far, Kim Dongyoung.”

And he knew it. And he knew Kun had warned him. And he knew that the broken look in Ten’s eyes was something he had never seen before and never been the cause of. And he knew that the shocked gasp coming from Yerim only proved Kun’s point further. And he knew himself that he regretted those words, wished he had never said them. And he knew, at the moment he noticed tears forming in Ten’s eyes, that apologies wouldn’t be enough this time.

Ten left the building without adding a word, leaving all of them in a cold silence that had nothing to do with the temperature of the ice rink. Dongyoung looked at Kun with helpless eyes, shrugging.

“Should I go after him?”

“Not now.”

Just like this, Dongyoung found himself left alone, but not without receiving another disappointed look from their coach. His cheek hurt, but not as much as seeing tears on Ten’s face when he had barely ever reacted to him throwing fits.

“You’re such an asshole, Dongyoung…”

 

* * *

 

 

He had stayed there all day, butt freezing on the stairs leading to the house where they were staying. He would have spent the whole day insulting himself in his bed if it weren’t for the fact that no one had seen Ten since he’d left the ice rink.

His hands were buried in his pockets, but even through the layers of his coat and his gloves the night’s cold was starting to get to his fingers, turning them numb. It was dark outside and he was hoping Ten had taken something with him, like a flashlight or his phone, so he wouldn’t be alone out there.

He had had more time to reflect on his actions than he had wanted, and the conclusions he’d drawn weren’t to his liking. Of course, Kun had helped because that was what Kun did; helping.

He had to apologise. Apologise, and not only for this, but for everything. Dongyoung knew that he had made Ten’s life a nightmare since that day he had been welcomed in the team, but he had kept telling himself that he was legitimate. _Legitimate my ass, Dongyoung, you’re just a jerk_. The least he could say was that Ten had been very brave to keep going despite all that he’d put him through. He deserved his place among them just as much as Dongyoung, if not more.

He also deserved peace now. He deserved to know what training in an harmonious environment felt like. Dongyoung didn’t want to promise he would stop bickering, or stop being annoying, but he had reflected enough to acknowledge his own mistakes and accept the consequences.

However, he was afraid now. It was getting later and later, colder and colder, darker and darker, and Ten was still nowhere to be seen. _He’ll be back soon_ , Kun had told him, hand on his shoulder, before heading back inside. It was two hours ago, and yet Dongyoung was still there, freezing his ass off quite literally, and Ten wasn’t here.

Afraid was a big word, but it was the truth. And Dongyoung had to admit, he wasn’t afraid that Ten wouldn’t come back because of him. He was afraid he wouldn’t come back at all.

So when he appeared at the corner of the pathway leading to the house, face barely peeking up from his scarf, hand gripped tight on a little flashlight, Dongyoung didn’t hold himself back. He stood up as quick as he could and ran to him, throwing himself in his arms while almost slipping on the snow.

“For fuck’s sake, Ten! Where the hell were you?”

He hugged him against his chest, almost burying himself in his neck to breathe in his scent. It felt new, it felt odd, but in a good way. It felt odd in the same way it felt to hold a newborn puppy for the first time. It felt odd in the same way it felt to skate for the first time after an injury. Odd, and sort of new, but with an amount of comfort that nothing else could bring. It was addicting somewhat, and Dongyoung almost pushed him away, afraid of wanting this more.

“What? Are you gonna yell at me again?”

“No! No, don’t worry, no. I won’t. I’m just… glad you’re safe.”

“I wasn’t gonna disappear. I just needed some time away from your ugly face.”

Ten kept calling him names and arguing but there was no bite to his words. Both boys were relieved. Relieved that Ten had come back. Relieved that he had been worried. Relieved to know that they still cared, despite the usual tensions between each other.

“Don’t think that hugging me like this will make you exempt of apologies.”

“Damn it. And to say I hope I could escape from it.”

“No luck. Dongyoung?” Ten said softly after a moment of silent.

“Yeah?” he answered just as softly, not really daring to say more.

“I’m cold as fuck, can you maybe let me go so we can go back inside?”

“Sure…”

Dongyoung let go of him completely before leading the way inside. There, he made them both cups of hot tea, not having the right to have anything sweet this late at night. It seemed like it was just the two of them, so they took their cups and went to their shared room to have a more private talk.

“I’m really sorry about what I said. This was just cruel and meant to hurt you.”

“Well done then.”

“I know. I regretted it instantly.”

“Regret isn’t worth anything if it doesn’t give you a good reason not to do it again.”

Dongyoung smiled a little; he was right. But he knew better now. That was the only thing that was on his mind actually.

“I swear, seeing you this close to crying, it… I don’t want to see ever again.”

“Damn, if I knew all it would take to make you stop was to see me crying, I would have cut a full onion in front of you on the first day.”

This managed to make them both burst into laughter, and Dongyoung only stopped when tears threatened to spill.

“You know you’re really funny when you’re not being a bitch?”

“I’m aware, yeah. Just how like you’re very handsome when you don’t speak at all.”

Then, they both chose to appreciate the delicate warmth of the silence. Between them, silence had never been a good thing. It always meant either blatant tension or complete ignorance. This time, it was more secret, more fragile, more inconspicuous, but it was there for them to share, to learn, to discover. There was something new growing between both of them, something Dongyoung would probably keep inside of him for as long as he can, because sometimes it’s for the best. Sincerely.

“Are you gonna keep looking at me like this?”

“So what if I do?”

“Oh nothing. I like it, actually.”

Ten smiled at him, and Dongyoung discovered that he liked it a lot, now that it was more sincere and full of affection. He bit on his own lip, fixing the bottom of his empty cup.

“I used to look at you like this too, when I first saw you skate.”

“Oh. You mean, before you knew I’d steal your prize?”

“No. Well, yeah, but…” Dongyoung breathed in deeply, looking up at him through the bangs that had fallen on his forehead. “It’s yours. You won it, and you deserve it.”

Ten smiled fully this time, almost blushing. Or maybe it was the dim lights casting shadows on his skin, Dongyoung wasn’t so sure.

“I know.”

And at this moment, he knew that he had done the right thing. There were still so many things left to say, so many things to apologise for, so many thoughts to share. But for now, it was just enough, and the simple idea that tomorrow was full of promises was also enough to fill Dongyoung’s heart with the will to get up to see Ten smile at him the way he had the day they met.

How he had loved this smile this day. But it was his secret, and it would remain like this. _It is for the best,_ he told himself before drifting to sleep, and maybe this time, it really was.

  


**Author's Note:**

> I... yeah. Well. It's over at least. Right? See you all again very soon I hope!
> 
> [tumblr](https://umiwomitai.tumblr.com) [twt](https://twitter.com/_tildawn) [cc](https://curiouscat.me/umiwomitai)


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